A nationwide trial is underway for a vaccine to prevent herpes infections. Approximately one out of four women in the United States has genital herpes. Symptoms are often subtle, and most people don’t know they have herpes, but genital herpes is among the most common infectious diseases. Healthy women aged 18-30 may be eligible to participate in the trial. From the Mount Sinai School of Medicine :New vaccine for herpes in final trial phase
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is seeking healthy women volunteers 18-30 to participate in Multi-Center, national trial
Approximately ONE out of FOUR women in the United States has genital herpes. Symptoms are often subtle, and most people don’t know they have herpes, but genital herpes is among the most common infectious diseases. This is why Mount Sinai School of Medicine has joined with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in the Herpevac Trial for Women. Healthy women aged 18-30 may be eligible to participate in the trial.
The herpes virus causes cold sores and genital herpes. Although thousands or millions of Americans have the disease, 90% are unaware of this infection. Even people who do not have visible symptoms can spread the disease. The disease burden is estimated at between $300 million to $1 billion per year in the US alone. There is no treatment that can eliminate the virus.
The Herpevac Trial for Women is investigating a promising vaccine to protect women against genital herpes. This vaccine does not contain live virus and cannot cause herpes infection. It has passed preliminary testing for safety and effectiveness and is now in its final phase of clinical trials.
For this study, Mount Sinai and the more than 20 other sites involved in the trail are seeking to enroll approximately 7,550 women. The Herpevac Trial for Women is open to healthy females between the ages of 18 and 30 who are negative for both HSV-1 and HSV-2.
Women who are interested in volunteering for the clinical trial will receive a very accurate blood test that looks for antibodies (the immune system’s response) to both HSV-1 and HSV-2. Participants can obtain results of the test by calling the Herpevac Trial for Women Test Result Hotline two weeks after having the blood drawn. In addition to providing results, this Hotline has trained counselors to answer questions about the test and test results so that women who test positive for herpes can understand what this means to them.
Volunteers will be randomly assigned to receive either the candidate herpes vaccine or and an investigational hepatitis A vaccine. Participants will receive three doses of either vaccine within the first six months of the trial and will be followed for a total of 20 months through periodic clinic visits and contacts.
I believe all things are possible thru prayer,and one day we will all be healed. god has his reasons for takings everyone thru such obstacles and I can feel it in my heart that a cure for this disease is more closer than everyone thinks it to be. its a lot on you, stress wise and stress kills, I just had to tell myself that you have it, it doesn’t have you. you can’t stop livin your life because of this on mishap. I like to read everyone’s blog on this subject, what they have to say is very interesting. if anyone needs someone to talk to because I know I do some days, i’m willing to listen so to contact me my email is
[email protected]
I look 4wd to hearing from some of you guys, & just for inspiration there’s a website I found, google Dr. Bryan Cullen & click on the 1st link & there’s information that will be helpful to everyone on this blog site…hope i’ve helped some of you guys. god bless & take care.
I too have herpes ….but I once seen a woman at my old church with HIV ….after being prayed for over and over she went to her doctor and was tested again …..and like oh my god she didn’t have anything .I didn’t believe it at first , but when she showed the church her HIV positive papers and her HIV negative papers I was shocked.she went back to the doctors and each test said negative …..that was 4 years ago and sis Jennifer is doin fine .I will go to church and pray till I am healed ..and continue to pray foreva
OMG I REALLY LIKED WHAT YU HAD TO SAY ABOUT THIS SITUATION,BEING THAT I FEEL THE SAME WAY AS YOU. ITS DEFINITELY NOT EASY TO DEAL WITH & EACH DAY GETS SO MUCH HARDER THEN THE DAY BEFORE. I AS WELL SEARCH THE WEB LOOKIN FOR A CURE. THIS REALLY DESTROYS A PERSON EMOTIONALLY,I HAVE FELT SO DEPRESSED @ TIMES THAT NOTHING OR NO ONE COULD HELP ME.& THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I WISH ON ANYONE,I FEEL LIKE YU…THAT THERE’S A CURE OUT THERE JUST WAITING TO BE FOUND.& I WILL BE THE HAPPIEST PERSON ALIVE IF I COULD JUST HAVE MY LIFE BACK.
Hey anonymous with a long manifesto!
I have loved your input especially your statistical one!!
I have agreed with everything you have said. I think I am going to save your input into my computer!
Regarding the transmission rates- you are right- they are small but higher {according to pharmaceutical studies} to ones you said. Even those official ones- 10% {5-7% from a woman to man} I did not consider that high considering how ‘contagious’ the virus is. One dr. said its 3 %!!!!!!
I believe it is not known.
Let me tell you everyone. I would not mind getting this from a person I love and have future with. I would never choose NOT to have HSV2 before my loved boyfriend. EVER. This has been the case until I have broken up with him.
[email protected]
Wow wow wow was in regards 2 maifesto’s thoughts
Although the numbers you posted are correct….I happened 2 fall into that 1% that contracted HSV 2 from one time encounter using condom! 1%!!!!!!!!!It is my worst nightmare come true! I am at 29 year old educated woman who does not lack self esteem or am crippled by it, and since I was HSV 1+ already makes that 1% a bigger bitch! I know I can’t blame anyone but myself but its sux if the guy I was with knew and thought like you think and did not give me the choice 2 become that freaking 1% statistic. As a woman it is different, it is more sympomatic for a woman (more mucosal membranes down there) and we are the ones who have 2 carry and deliver children and worry for 9 months till birth of a baby! I have not even had children yet! AND if that wasn’t enough there is “ONLY” a 3% chance an infant can contract HSV from a vaginal delivery from a mom who does not show signs of outbreak! 3% chance!!!!DID I NOT MAKE MYSELF CLEAR when I said I was the 1% statistic!!!Do you even think a woman in my situation can take that chance? NEVER! So with all that said, you SHOULD give women that choice! No sex is worth having to deal with this and you are worried about “social suicide”!? You are in denial that you have it then because you are not symptomatic and the severity of it…”Because it does not kill you!”? It kills your spirt, drains your wallet, and changes your life forever! Get a clue. Wait till you meet your wife and have to deal with watching her deal with outbreaks and worrying about your unborn child! Not so causal of a thought then is it!?
Hi,
If you want to donate, you have at least 3 options:
Dr. Knipe – HSV2 VACCINE
Dr. Bloom – Treatment for HSV1 and HSV2 to make virus inactive
Dr. Bryan Cullen – Treatment to eliminate HSV’s ability to hide in latency in the nervous system and avoid being killed with current treatments
I managed to make my donation to two of these researches. Couldn’t do to Knipe because, they didn’t accept foreign credit cards.
Check the thread in the Herpes_Coldsores forum(www.herpes-coldsores.com), which is a great place to obtain information, and also to just chat with people that are experience the same as you.
http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/messageforum/showthread.php?t=22739
Hope this help you.
Atila
when did they come out with the generic valtrex? i am 32 weeks pregnant and my insurance company was paying for valtrex up untill this month! now they want me to get generic and i been on it for 7 days and its either not working as good as the name brand or i just happened to have cold sore outbreaks that caused me to have a genital outbreak and its making me think the generic is GENERIC. i have hsv-1 and i stupidly let it spread to my mouth im an idiot!! that just happened while i was pregnant so i am still beating myself up about it and the outbreaks only started to go away right before they made me switch to freaking generic and now they are back!! i am working on finding out the ingredients in the generic today to compare the two. they are bigger then the regular valtrex. ever since i spread it to my mouth they havent stopped for over a month now untill i was taking my valtrex 500mg twice a day then they switched me to generic and the second day on generic i had cold sore outbreak and then the next i had a genital outbreak. UGH. im hoping just because i am pregnant. the valtrex use to work great before i got pregnant.
@I know how everyone feels,
Please don’t be afraid to tell a future partner that you are HSV2 positive. And don’t stay with a current partner if you are unhappy but comfortable that he knows your status.
I have had to tell over 5 people in the last 20 years. Some I had known for years and others only a few weeks. In every instance, it was OK. And now I have been with my husband for over eight years, and he does not have it. Also, we don’t take any special precautions (no condoms, no medication) except to avoid sexual contact when I have an outbreak or feel one coming.
I am so sorry that you are so young and having to deal with this. I was 17 when I was diagnosed, so I understand.
You can find my at my blog:
http://theherpesblog.com
HI THERE, I SEE YOUVE PUT ALOT OF THOUGHT AND ENERGY INTO YOUR STATEMENT ABOVE. i WOULD JUST LIKE TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAAR TO YOU THAT AS A 26YR OLD PREVIOUSLY SUPER HEALTHY PERSON HAVING TRUSTED A FRIEND OF TEN YEARS THAT I SPECIFICALLY QUESTIONED ABOUT HIS STATUS, I CAN TELL YOU THIS…I S U F F E R EVERY SINGLE DAY SEVERLY…FROM EXTREME FATIGUE…DEPRESSION…SORENESS IN EYES…NOW YOU CAN CLEARLY VISUALLY SEE SICKNESS UNDER MY EYES THE KIND YOU ASK YOURSELF HOW DO PEOPLE THIS YOUNG GET TO LOOKING SO STRUNG! IT IS YOUR DUTY TO CARE FOR OTHERS AS SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE CARED FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR YOU…IT IS NOT JUST A MINOR BOTHER IT IS A FRECKING SICKNESS…TO KNOW WHAT IVE BEEN THROUGH I WOULD NEVER IMAGINE GIVING THIS TO A N Y O N E ….FOR ANY REASON…IT TOO MUCH OF A DIS- EASE…ITS DOWN RIGHT A THEIF OF LIFE….I CAN ONLY PRAY YOUR SYMPTOMS GET WORSE SO THAT YOU WILL UNDERSTAND MORE CLEARLY THE RISK YOU ARE PUTTING OTHERS IN….WHATS WRONG WITH YOU!GIVE PEOPLE A CHOICE! NOT EVERYBODYS THE SAME WHAT YOU PUT OFF AS NOTHING COULD MEAN EVERYTHING TO SOMEONE ELSE! EVERY HEARD ATLEAST YOU STILL HAVE YOUR HEALTH WELL YOUR CONCEALING SOMETHING THT COULD VERY WELL KEEP THEM FROM EVEN BEING ABLE TO STATE THAT MUCH! I PRAY YOU HEAR ME CAUSE I FEEL FOR THE PERSON YOU ARE NOT BEING HONEST WITH…
Hi, I’m Angela and you are just a amazing person with good hopes and great thoughts and should be awarded for giving your opinion. I truly believe people who are infected should live there lives normally. I have both HSV 1 and HSV 2. I’m the same person with or without this disease it doesn’t control me. I don’t get symtoms I’m very careful but the sick thing is my ex bf didn’t have it and i found out i had it when i went to the doctors and i was currently still with my ex and thought he gave it to me but he didn’t but i didn’t test myself before i was with him so it couldv’e been my ex bf before him but anyway we kissed alot i didn’t have any breakouts on my face and he didn’t contract the disease i don’t get it do you get from someone who has a sore on there face or people without sores on there face because obvisously my ex didn’t get it so are they telling the truth about people still contracting this disease even without symtoms. Manifesto i believe in everything you have said. You helped me so much. You don’t even know. hope we can keep in contact you are someone who has alot of knowledge.
This original article was published in 2004 and quite a lot has changed since then. While there is still no vaccine for genital herpes, there are vaccines in clinical trials now in 2009. Thankfully two vaccines are being tested: A phophylactic vaccine, designed to protect those that are HSV2 negative from contracting herpes, and a therapeutic vaccine, a treatment for those of us that are already HSV2 positive.
While we wait for these vaccines (and it could be years), we still have many treatment options available to us. Generic Valtrex is now available and is quite effective at viral suppression, and there are many, many immune boosting and natural treatments coming to market every day.
Herpes does not define you and in no way makes you damaged. Stay positive and keep educated on what is going on with herpes treatments. Don’t be afraid to seek out a new Doctor if you current doctor is unsupportive or lacks current herpes knowledge. Take care.
http://www.herpes-outbreak.com
Er, wait, does that other date say 2004? Oh well.
Sorry to burst your hope on this. But this article was first posted in 2007. I’m in the same boat as everyone else writing here. But this isn’t the venue to get your voices heard.
There are worse things in the world to have than cold sores HSV-1. To this point in my life its not killing me but, I often feel like it is. I’m 30 years old now and I have had it as long as I can remember. Growing up, I maybe got an outbreak once a year to everyother year. Since I’ve graduated college and with life and stress I’ve been getting an outbreak 3-4 times a year. I feel that the old one gets typically we get more self-esteem however, I feel like I get a nice kick in the pants everytime I get an outbreak. I can live with the day to day stress of life but I’d rather not wake up every morning doing a self check to make sure I don’t have bumps forming followed by a week to 2 weeks of semi-depression. I tired of playing the guessing game hmmm is this a tingle or an itch do I have to make a mad dash to the doc for some valtrex ohhh too late see you in a week or two… Well all I can say is best of luck to Dr. Cullen I really hope you find the cure!!!!
YES I WOULD LIKE TO BE A GUINEA PIG FOR THIS ALSO IM 17 AND I WAS RECENTLY DIAGNOSED WITH HSV-1 I WOULD LOVE TO HELP FIND A CURE THERE IS ALREADY A CURE FOR HIV SO WHY CANT WE HAVE OURS
I know you’re scared, but your life is not over. I’ve had herpes for about 1 and 1/2 years now. I am 21 years old, and the person who gave it to me was my first boyfriend. We had been together for 6 years. He cheated on me and when I got the virus he showed NO SYMPTOMS. I am now engaged to a wonderful guy who also has the virus(not the person who gave it to me). Right now, you’re hurting, right now, you feel like you’ll never feel attractive again. You feel like a leper, and that is part of the process. In time, you will come to terms with this and realize that your life is still beautiful, and that there are WORSE things that could have happened. If you want to look around and see others who share this experience, try positivesingles.com. This is not a spam commerical, this site is where I met my fiancee, and I can’t promise that for you, but I can at least promise that you will feel better seeing the HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of people who will try to talk to you, and you’ll see that you can have a normal life. Your symptoms will fade. True, you’ll always have the virus and you’ll always be contagious, but you will not be in pain forever. My first outbreak caused me to miscarry, and it was the worst experience I have ever gone through. But I am okay now, and you will be too. No te preocupes. Todo va a salir bien.
wow
i def.. with well everything you said…
my friend, i just found out i have herpes (both of them) i feel so so bad, so depressed, i just can’t stop thinking about it, i can’t sleep nor eat, i really think my sexual life is over, and i’m 26. im from mexico by the way, i got herpes in canada, i thought you have to touch the open sore to get it. i pray to God for a cure, and i really think we should start a movement or something i could start it in mexico, we could make groups of people with this virus, and get some money and pay to someone to do something, at least we can try. you guys can add me at zilgfried at hot mail
I just came across this post on the Times website from January ’08. It talks about how they have figured out that microRNA blocks the production of proteins that activate the infection/outbreak. And they can retrieve mircoRNA out of LAT (latency associated transcript) RNA (from the latent stage of HSV-1). It states that Dr Bryan Cullen believes that using microRNA to activate the virus & then apply acyclovir can possibly completely kill out the virus. There are no fatal side-effects. So where do I sign up for the guinea pig position?
I mean, this is from January ’08 and I cant find anywhere stating this is one of the failed attempts that are metioned in this post..so what is the progress on this?? Does anyone know, I mean it sounds amazingly too good to be true, but you can test it on me!